Silent Promise
by artemis lecter
Summary: Jareth POV. Jareth's thoughts after Sarah leaves the Labyrinth. Oneshot.


Disclaimer: I own NOTHING.

I remember the first time I ever saw her.

I took a trip from the Goblin City to clear my head. Ruling a kingdom full of backstabbing, traitorous goblins can certainly be tedious. As an owl, I soared through the skies, feeling free from my duties as king to my despicable subjects. I looked down at the ground and saw a young girl in a white dress, not more than fifteen or sixteen years old, reciting familiar lines. I flew in for a closer look.

"Give me the child."

Ah . . . **that **old story. I listened to her for a few more seconds, until she forgot her line. She heard the clock overhead and exclaimed, running off with her dog.

I thought about what I had just witnessed. She was a beautiful thing. Also fairly talented, and intelligent to boot. Curiosity getting the better of me, I followed her home, carefully avoiding her line of sight so she would not get too suspicious. It's always best to steer clear of humans; they would go completely insane if they saw a half-goblin such as myself. My little disguise didn't help much either; according to my reading, owls rarely come out during the day Aboveground.

I saw the argument between the girl --whom I now knew to be called Sarah— and her stepmother. Shortly afterward, the stepmother and Sarah's father left Sarah alone in the house with her baby brother. I felt sorry for the poor girl. She was young, and clearly very lonely. I did not know all of the ways of the Aboveground, but I was fairly certain that none of the girls in this day and age dressed as Sarah did, or was interested in the things she was interested in. She must feel like a total outcast.

I listened intently as Sarah attempted to calm down the baby. Unfortunately, she was so infuriated with her parents and the situation in which she found herself in general that the words coming out of her mouth were only spiteful and malicious.

I must admit, I was fairly disappointed when I heard her intone the words meant to scare her little brother. In all seriousness, where the bloody hell did she learn that rubbish? I restrained myself from clapping myself on the forehead and turned to leave.

"I wish the goblins **would **come and take you away . . . right now."

It happened immediately. The goblins came and whisked away the baby and took him back to my castle. I was left to deal with Sarah, who adamantly refused the crystal I presented to her. She also dismissed my admonitory words before she went into the labyrinth, choosing instead to believe that she could make it through by sheer lick and determination.

I left her and went back to my castle, watching her in my crystals to make sure she didn't get too far. I told myself she wouldn't, even if she did have the help of that scabby idiot. Perhaps I should not have given her so much slack, should not have toyed with her and allowed her to get so far. I soon realized that if I didn't do something to stop her soon, she would get the baby. I knew that I needed to act as hastily as possible.

However, I was simultaneously discovering something else—I cared for Sarah. It was unnatural and despicable. But her love for her brother and friends, along with her courage, determination, intelligence, and beauty made her absolutely irresistible to me. I was drawn to her like a magnet. When I went to Hoggle with my warning, I could not help but add my comment about her ever kissing him. The very thought turned my stomach and made me want to strangle him; it wasn't right that Sarah should want to be around a detestable coward such as Hoggle, as opposed to being with me.

I gave her the peach as an act of desperation; I had nothing left. I suppose the dream was a way to get her to be with me as much as it was a way for her to forget about her brother. When I saw her in the ballroom, it was all I could do to keep myself from running to her and embracing her. So I toyed with her a bit, maybe just to keep some control over myself. She may have become my dreams, my obsession, but I was still a king, and deserved to be treated as such.

Eventually I gave into her. I took her into my arms and danced with her, as I suppose I had subconsciously been wanting to since I met her. Astounding how one little human girl can bring out emotions I hadn't felt in years—love, fear, passion. She made me feel something for a change, something more than the monotony of everyday life in the Underground. I was so used to getting everything my own way, and here this beautiful girl comes along, hell-bent on royally pissing me off and totally dedicated to defying me. And God, I loved her for it.

I honestly thought, when she had eaten the peach, that it was all over then. I think I was able to move on with my existence then; living without her would be extremely difficult, and for now it felt like there was a gaping hole in my chest, but I would get by. To my utter amazement, however, a goblin came in and announced that Sarah had somehow cheated the spell and retained her memory.

At first, I tried to keep her away. I understood quickly that this would not happen—apparently luck and determination could get you very far, if you had enough of them. After the shock of my being outwitted had subsided, I made the decision to try to hold onto her. If possible, the fact that Sarah had withstood the enchantment I placed on the crystal made me respect her even more, and let me tell you, my respect is not an easy thing to earn.

I tried my damnedest to keep her, breaking down almost to the point of telling her exactly how much I adored and craved her (as if there are words strong enough to tell her _exactly _how I felt). She rejected me, and for the first time I knew, contrary to popular belief, that I did have a heart—I felt it shatter into a million tiny pieces in my chest. Not able to deal with the agony, I fled.

Before I left, I saw her in her bedroom, running over to her friends and throwing her arms tightly around them. My stomach clenched, and I tried to cope with the fact that she might never show that much affection towards me, no matter what I did. I was evil in her eyes, the malevolent goblin king who stole her brother from her. I flew away, realizing that there was nothing I could do about my situation.

As I flew away, from the window, I made myself a silent promise. Sarah would see me again. And she will be mine not long afterward.

A/N: My first Labyrinth fic . . . .

This is sort of a prequel to the much longer story I am writing, but I guess it could be considered a story all on its own. Either way, PLEASE review!!!!!


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